Around The World Before Everybody Dies
by somekindafreaky
Summary: Kitty left the XMen, trying to live a normal life. But now someone has been kidnapping the mutants of America, so it's up to her, along with some old friends, to rescue them. Unfinished Kimy.
1. In Belle's Hell

It was a regular Saturday night at Belle's Hell Bar. A few dozen kids from the nearby University of Chicago were clustered round the bar, downing pints and whistling at the young, female staff. Most of them were horny jocks who had probably already gone out, got laid, dropped their dates off home and then now had come out for a celebratory drink with the rest of the fraternity. Underage, but who gave a damn?

Cigarette smoke hung low in the air, which Kitty Pryde still hadn't quite got used to yet, even after four months of working here, but at least now she didn't think about it all the time. And at least now she was on a waitressing shift, and wouldn't take her turn behind the bar until an hour later. It gave her the chance to walk around, never staying in one place too long for the smoke to become stale and really get to her head.

"Oi love, bring that beautiful booty over this way!" someone called to her, and she rolled her eyes at her friend and fellow waitress Madeline, who grinned knowingly.

"Will you get that table, Maddie? My ass is totally numb from all the pinching!" she pleaded.

"No way, Kit," she replied, looking over Kitty's shoulder. "I'm getting this Adonis who just walked in!"

Kitty turned, hardly surprised, as the girl who seemed to have a hott guy radar programmed into her, made a beeline for this newcomer. She sighed and reluctantly turned to attend to the drunken imbeciles who'd been hassling her all night.

/Ah well, just remember it pays the bills/ she reminded herself as several pieces of paper were slipped into her back pocket all at once, the owners of the various hands taking the opportunity to grope her briefly for good measure. She forced a smile. The manager of the pub, a friend of Kitty's who had got her this job, has asked that all the waitresses accept phone numbers given to them (whether they actually called was their own business) and they were all supposed to flirt, or at least 'be friendly,' so Kitty put up with it.

She was in the middle of the five men's orders when Madeline appeared behind her, looking slightly disgruntled.

"Sorry to interrupt gentlemen, but Kitty, that guy asked for you," she jerked her blonde curls toward the man in the corner, the one who had just recently entered. The so-called 'Adonis.' It wasn't unusual for a customer to request service from a particular waitress that caught their eye.

The guys all grunted and wailed in protest as she headed to the solitary table in the half-shadow of the already dimly lit pub. He looked quite shady, in a trench coat and dark glasses, but she wasn't afraid. Even for the girls that weren't expert ninjas like her, there was always Dean – a huge bald man who stood by the door, ready to toss out anybody who harassed the girls or started a fight.

"Hi, I'm Kitty, what can I get for you?" she asked, her voice deliberately informal and a little bit suggestive.

The man didn't reply right away, but looked her over blatantly. She was used to this too, and waited patiently for him to be done with it and order.

He took in her hair; it was worn in the same style, with the chin-length bangs, but her ponytail was much longer and fuller, with more body, bounce and volume to it, as if it had been teased. Her heart-shaped face was the same too, the huge, devastatingly blue eyes, pouty pink lips, airbrushed skin. He didn't reckon she had grown an inch in height either, still was she diabolically short, especially for an eighteen-year-old. Her figure was similar; she maintained the same slender body, long, graceful dancer's legs. He thought that her chest had definitely grown though, which was of course a good thing. All in all, she looked spectacularly sexy and beautiful, especially in her uniform, which consisted of a tiny dark pink halter top, black leather trousers, long fingerless gloves, tall silver-and-black boots, many bangles up her arms, a silver choker and huge gold hoop earrings. She was quite something, and he had been lonely for far too long so he appreciated it all the more.

She in turn was appraising him. She decided he definitely wasn't a student at the university – he looked to be about twenty-five. Madeline had been right, she saw, in thinking he was gorgeous, his chiselled chin and cheeks and floppy brown hair which seemed almost familiar but she couldn't quite place. His glasses and the shadow mostly covered his face, and she couldn't quite see how tall he was, as he was sitting down, except that he looked to be well over six feet.

After a few moments, he finally said, "I know who you are. But do ya know who I am?"

She blinked. If that was a pick-up line, it was one she hadn't heard before. Her mind raced to think of a flirty, mischievous reply, but he didn't wait before speaking again.

"It's been two years, petite, but I wouldn't like ta think ah was that forgettable."

Her breath caught in her throat as he removed his sunglasses, revealing black and red eyes.

"Oh my god," she said after a few long seconds, at a loss of anything else to say. Another moments of silence passed. "How did you find me?"

"I need t' talk t' ya," he said instead of answering her question, suddenly sounding quite urgent, and his voice was low. "Not in here. Come outside, I've got some friends waitin' in the car."

Kitty's brain was whirring. Everything was happening so fast!

"I – I can't… my break's not for ages… friends?"

"Well, ya know I was always a popular guy," he gave her that lop-sided grin which she remembered. It made her heart burn in longing for her old friends. And yet… she was trying to put that life behind her.

Remy had stood up by this point, and had her wrist, and was dragging her behind him to the door.

It didn't take Dean a moment to pick up on this, and suddenly he was barring the way.

Remy glared up at this man who had suddenly slotted in between him and the door.

"Escusez moi, mon ami."

"Excuse yourself. I'd let go of the lady's arm if I were you," Dean threatened.  
  
Remy blinked innocently as if to say, 'Lady? I don't know this lady of whom you speak.'

"It's okay Dean, I know him," Kitty explained, but he still looked suspicious.

"Where are you goin' Kitty? Ain't you got the graveyard shift?"

"I'm sorry, can you tell the boss it's a, er, family emergency? I promise I'll make it up."

Dean was clearly uncertain, but there wasn't much he could do except stand aside and let them leave.

Out in the cold November night, Kitty began to shiver, being only clad in her skimpy outfit. Remy led her to a car only a few feet away, however, parked right in front of the pub, opened the door and ushered her in.

Confusedly, half in a daze, she scrambled in and was followed by Remy. They were in the back seat, and then two horribly familiar, yet still fairly changed faces, turned to look at her. She stared in disbelief at the faces of Pyro and Avalanche – two of the people she had hoped most never to see again. Ever.

"Lookin' good, sheila!" Pyro exclaimed, looking quite happy. Lance didn't say anything, and wore a guarded expression. Kitty averted her gaze, wondering if he was still smarting from being dumped two years ago.

"Drive on, Rocky," Remy commanded Lance, who turned round and obeyed, though was obviously annoyed.

"Chat, I don' believe you've been formally introduced t' Monsieur Allerdyce yet," Remy gestured toward Pyro, who was still turned around from the passenger seat and grinning at her, and then to Kitty. "St. John Allerdyce, Kitty Pryde."

"Pleasure's mine, sheila, call me John!" he thrust his hand out, which a bemused Kitty took. He shook it very enthusiastically, and she rubbed her hand afterwards.

At last she turned to Remy, deciding it was time to demand answers.

.:.:.:.

If you don't understand some of what's going on, all will be explained in upcoming chapters. However, if you REALLY must know as soon as possible, just review and ask.


	2. In the Car

Pyros-gal – you're so nice :D

Shadow-Kitty-Cat – hooray!

Deathrosekitty – well, the only other ones that need updating are The Stuff Dreams are Made of and Gone With The Wind, the former of which I will get updated soon, and the latter of which has just been annoying me lately, so no promises on that one!

Lucas'sgirl – I like the way you think! I love John too, and hate lancitty, mostly because Lance is a fool. And a little kyro-cuteness never hurt anybody, so expect some!

Valley-Gurl101 – you got their numbers on that one!

This chapter's mostly explaining stuff, and I'm sorry if it's not very interesting. You'll get a chapter with plenty more fluff in about a week, after I've returned from holiday.

.:.:.:.  
  
"Okay Remy, tell me what's going on. I'm serious. Somehow I don't believe that you've like, rejoined Magneto's team and are kidnapping me."

Remy looked her squarely in the eyes, and his expression was so grim she fought the urge not to shift away.

"I'll keep it brief. De X-Men—"

"And the Brotherhood!" added John quickly.

"—'ave been kidnapped."

Kitty gave a start of surprise. "By who?"

"We dunno. But there are an awful lot o' secret organisation types who are possible suspects."

"Trask?" Kitty gulped.

Remy shrugged.

"How did you guys escape?"

"Luck. They struck at night, an' none of us were in when it happened," he answered bitterly, his tone implying that if he had been in, well, things might have turned out differently."

"They have all of them? How? What are they doing? Why haven't I heard???" Kitty wailed in despair, her hands flying to her face. Ordinarily she was so good in sticky situations. She was obviously out of practice.

Remy replied calmly, "We t'ink they drugged 'em, else they couldn't 'ave taken them all out. I dunno how they got in, an' we dunno what they're doin' or where they are. The reason ya haven't heard is cause the government's hushing it up. They don't want people to know that they aren't doin' anythin' ta try an' get 'em back."

Kitty's eyes widened. "I can't believe it… nothing?!"

"They're bloody tossers, they are!" John cried from the front seat, and Kitty noticed that Remy didn't even berate him for using bad language in front of a girl, which he would have done two years ago.

She looked at him carefully. He wasn't that changed, physically, except that his hair was a bit longer and scruffier, and if the stubble was any indication he hadn't shaved in a while either. But there were other things that had changed. The way he slumped his shoulders, and the bags under his eyes. He was a world-weary Remy, not the happy-go-lucky practical joker he had been when she'd left. Her heart, in typical Kitty fashion, went out to him.

"When did this happen?" she asked carefully, her voice more gentle.

He glanced up at her. "Two months ago."

She stared at him in horror. "And you're only telling me now?!"

"We've been tryin' to bloody find you for two months, Kitty!" John piped up. "You hid yourself pretty well."

Remy nodded solemnly. "But now we found ya an' you gotta help us."

She looked at him forlornly. "How?"

"How do ya think? We're takin' you to with us to go rescue them!" John said.

"But…" she stammered, "I can't leave… I'm in the middle of university!"

"We're the only ones left Kitty," Remy told her sternly, staring at her so hard she almost shuddered. "The officials don' wanna get involved in mutant affairs, so it's up t' us."

They all waited for her expectantly in a dreadful silence. Finally Kitty sighed and relented. "Okay, like, fine. What do we do?"

Remy and John both visibly relaxed now that she had agreed. Lance, if anything, tensed. She eyed him miserably, cautiously.

"We're gonna search for 'em. First, we'll need a telepath."

"Oh," Kitty crossed her arms and challenged, "And where do you suppose to find one? If I'm not mistaken, Jean and the professor were both kidnapped, yes?"

"I have my connections," he said confidently.

"Why not used Caliban?" she suggested, confused.

Remy's expression darkened further. "The Morlocks were taken too."

Kitty swallowed. Someone – Hydra, perhaps? – had really gone to town. A sudden rush of guilt hit her. It wasn't the first time she had wondered whether or not her leaving had been selfish. But she had so needed to get away, make her own journey. She couldn't spend all her life in spandex. But all the same, she hadn't been there when her friends had needed her.

Feeling tears welling up in her eyes, Kitty fought desperately to keep them down. Crying in front of Remy was one thing, she probably had done before, but John and Lance was quite another.

Remy obviously noticed, because he reached out and drew her to him. She nuzzled in deeply, choking slightly, grateful for the warm embrace of someone familiar. She had made good friends with Remy in the short time between his joining the X-Men and her leaving them. She had missed him sorely, as well as the others. And she had never thought to see any of them again – now that was what she wanted most in the world.

"Get a room," snapped Lance, the first words he'd spoken up to this point. Kitty blushed, but Remy's arm around her held her to him, preventing her from moving.

"Where are we going now?" she asked after a few minutes, when she trusted herself to speak.

"A hotel. I t'ink we all need a good night's rest. We got one tough mission ahead of us."

"But…" she blinked, lifting her head slightly to gaze at him in questioning, "I haven't got anything else to wear."

"Who's complaining?" John reasoned, and was ignored.

"Please, can we stop by my apartment? I'd also like to leave a note for my roommate."

They three guys exchanged contemplative looks.

"Please?"

"Alright," Remy sighed, and John shrugged.

"Thank you. It's only down this street… right. And left. And stop," she directed Lance, who grudgingly obeyed.

"And pack light – very light," Remy called after her as she climbed out of the car.

/I could just go in, lock the door, and not come back out/ she thought to herself wildly as she flew up the stairs, but she knew she was just kidding herself. /As if they wouldn't just come in and get me anyhow!/ And of course, as if she could ever desert her friends when they needed her. If they needed her. They might already be… /No, don't think about that. Never think about that./

She found the smallest duffle she owned, and hastily threw some clothes in there, as well as her toothbrush and hairbrush. After a moment's hesitation, she left her laptop on her bed, knowing that she would miss it something painful. She also scribbled a suitably vague note for her roommate:

__

Dear Alli,

I dunno how to say this, but I probably won't see you for at least several months. There's been an emergency with my family and I don't know how long it'll last. You know that my half of the rent is paid automatically via my bank account so that's not a problem, and I'd appreciate if you leave my clothes, at least until I am expelled by the University. Of course that's a worst case scenario, and I hope to be back before then, but if I'm not could you send them to my parents, along with all my other stuff? And I guess could you also call the bar and officially resign for me? I'd appreciate that. You've been a really great friend and I seriously hope I'll be back soon, if ever. I'll try and keep in touch.

Love Kitty x x

She placed the note down on Allison's bed, and then there was the sound of a car horn honking impatiently outside in the street. Kitty grabbed her bag, slung it over her shoulder, and left. 

It seemed that she was never going to escape the ghosts in her past.


	3. In the Hotel

Evil-Bunny-Leader – Oh I dunno, I think I could take one evil bunny. Two though… different story entirely

Deathrosekitty – What ISN'T up with Lance??? Yeah, okay, that didn't really make sense

Shadow-Kitty-Cat – I love you for lovin' 'em!

ValleyGurl101 – YEAH holidays! It's a shame they're nearly over. Ack. And yes, Lance is an ugly monster, but I didn't notice he was… oh, oh, you're talking about jealousy. Well yeah, that too

Mandamirra10 – compliments! And I will write another kyro soon, there haven't been many around lately, but I'm still sort of in the process of trying to figure out how I like writing his character best. That's why he's different in all of my fics! There's hardly been much development in the show, but once I find how I like to portray him there will be kyros in abundance!

Just me-the cool girl – considering how many kyro fans there are, it is a sin that there aren't more kyros! I will definitely put some kyro fluff in here in a humble attempt to make up for this travesty

It wasn't until two o' clock in the morning, a dark and stormy night, that they arrived at their hotel. It wasn't anything special, but at least, Kitty noticed with relief, it was clean and it wasn't one of these charge-by-the-hour places.

There were two rooms they had pre-booked, each with two fairly large beds. As there was absolutely no way Kitty was sharing with either Lance or John, it was taken for granted that she was rooming with Remy. Which wasn't too bad – they had lived together in the past after all, even if it was in a large mansion with plenty of other people.

Their room was simple: the beds, a desk, a radiator (/Thank God/ Kitty thought, /It's freezing!/) and an en-suite bathroom, where Kitty went to change into her pyjamas. These consisted of little pink shorts with darker pink hearts, and an old grey sweater. It was a scruffy old thing, which hung off one shoulder, and its three-quarter-length sleeves were fraying, but it had been Rogue's. And therefore, Kitty had kept it. It felt comforting and reassuring.

When she emerged, having brushed her teeth and let her hair down (it was now about as long as Jean's had been) she found Remy still in his clothes – a rumpled dark red t-shirt and jeans, which had heretofore been concealed by his trench coat. He was sat on his bed, smoking a cigarette.

She stood there nervously as he glanced at her briefly. She was torn between her desire to comfort him, he looked so depressed, and her embarrassment, which was warning her not to make a fool of herself and just go to bed. The compassionate side won.

In her bare feet she padded over to Remy and sat beside him silently. There were a few moments during which neither of them spoke.

"Are you okay?" she asked him finally.

He looked at her for a while, contemplating his answer. "What's your definition of okay?"

She sighed, looking down, humiliated already.

He looked at her glumly. "I'm not okay. But it's nothin' t' worry your pretty li'l head about." He ruffled her hair playfully. She smiled, though she could sense his heart wasn't in it.

He took another long drag before stubbing out the cigarette in the ashtray on the bedside table. Then he gave another deep sigh and rubbed his eyes wearily. She watched him sadly. He turned to look back at her, his face a picture of tired misery and loneliness.

She felt like her heart was breaking. Before she could stop herself, she had reached up, taken his head, and pulled it down to her chest, cradling it in her hands. He seemed surprised, but didn't resist. In fact he sighed deeper, though there was contentment to it now, and he buried his face in closer. She stroked his hair softly, and alighted a kiss on top of his head.

A few minutes passed, both Remy and Kitty in deep thought. He had put his arms around her waist by now, and he was able to manoeuvre her down onto his bed in a lying position.

She tensed, but the rational part of her brain (which rarely ever won internal conflicts, but in this case managed) reminded her that this was gentlemanly Remy, and he would never take advantage of her, his friend. In this state she would have been surprised if he had been capable of taking advantage of anyone. Then again, Remy had always been full of surprises.

But it seemed his intentions were honourable. He just wrapped his arms around her tighter, pressing her face into his chest this time instead of vice versa. He leant his face into her hair, relishing in the sweet smell. Other than that he didn't attempt to make any advances. She didn't move away, understanding that he needed some companionship, a friend. If she was honest with herself, she knew she did too.

Remy reached over Kitty, and she felt a rush of self-consciousness as he did so, and he turned off the light. A moment later the room was lit up by a flash of lightning, followed shortly by a growl of thunder, audible over the rain beating heavy on the windowpane.

Kitty shivered and inched closer. She felt Remy's fingers brush over her exposed stomach and trembled, though it was probable just an accident. The denim of his jeans, which he had neglected to remove, rubbed up against her leg, giving her goosebumps. In turn he felt her hands creep up inside his shirt, no doubt seeking solace from the chill. Her warm breath tickled his neck.

"I'm glad you're here, Kitty," he murmured in her ear.

"I'm glad I'm here, too."

When Kitty woke up, she had the distinct impression she was being partly crushed; her right side was completely numb. She blinked tiredly and discovered that it was Remy, sprawled on his stomach, half on top of her. This was extremely confusing until she remembered the events of the previous evening.

She wondered why she had woken up – judging by the lack of light through the half-shut blinds of the window, it couldn't be later than five a.m. Then she heard the insistent knocking on the door.

So exhausted was she that she didn't even think that it might be any sort of emergency or anything of importance. She just reached for the covers and pulled them up over her head, and Remy's too in the process.

"Alright, I'm coming in!" declared a voice, and Kitty barely had time to register the thought that she had better get out of Remy's bed, and damn quickly, before the door flew open.

John and Lance were stood there, the former still with one foot in the air from where he had kicked the door in.

Remy gave a start and woke at the sound, and looked up at his intruders with irritation.

"Damn it," he mumbled, "I'm tryin' t' sleep here."

"Well it certainly looks like ya didn't get any last night!" John grinned devilishly at Kitty who had turned a violent shade of red.

Lance was stood behind John, a look of intense hurt and insult on his face. "You really have changed Kitty. I didn't know you were that kind of girl," he said softly, before turning away and marching back to his room opposite theirs.

"Don't mind him girl, he's moody cause you never gave him any when you were together," John said cheerfully. "Now get up, love birds, long day ahead of us!"

Remy only groaned, and using his right arm that was slung over Kitty's stomach, he tried to pull her closer so that he could use her as a pillow. She simply phased through him, however.

"Nothing happened, you know," she blushed as she made her way to the bathroom with fresh clothes. For some reason she felt the need to explain herself.

"O' course not," John winked. She turned redder.

When she came back out, in a simple blue sweater and white jeans, she found the guys all ready and waiting for her.

"So what's going on now?" she asked.

"You're on your way to New York," Remy informed her.

"Oh, that old neck of the woods," she swallowed and smiled nervously. She didn't want to think how many skeletons in the closet she find there.

"Wait…" she hesitated. "Me? As in… not you?"

"You, an' Johnny, an' Lance," he clarified.

"Where are you going?" she asked, hoping they wouldn't spot the alarm she was feeling at the prospect of going all the way to New York with just those two. One was harbouring serious issues with her and the other one was just plain crazy.

"I'm goin' to get our telepath."

"Oh," she said as the four made their way down to the car. "Who is he? She?"

"Her name's Emma Frost. Usually she lives in New York but last I heard she's staying in Capital City."

"Why haven't I heard of her if she lives in New York?"

"You prob'ly have but didn't take notice. She's very rich. An' she goes by lotsa other business names as well."

"She's trying to start up a school like Xavier's," John added.

"Then why would she help us?"

"Oh, I'll t'ink of somet'in'," Remy shrugged with confidence. "Bit o' the ol' le Beau charm an' she'll see it our way."

Kitty felt slightly uneasy.

"Your chariot, milady," John opened the back door of their black estate and Kitty climbed in unhappily.

"Kitty," Remy addressed her through the open window. "Your job's ta get t' the institute an' set up Cerebro ready. You're real good wit' computers, right?"

She shrugged.

"Good girl. Seeya in a couple o' weeks." He swiftly kissed her on the cheek, turned and climbed onto his motorbike. It revved into life and then was gone. Kitty sighed.

Not really any kyro in that chapter but it's coming!


End file.
